Name: Orange Frosting
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon cream; 1 cup icing sugar; 1 tablespoon melted butter; ½ teaspoon orange extract; Pulp and finely grated rind of 1 orange

Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Orange Frosting

Ingredients

Directions

Make the frosting

In a bowl, combine the cream and icing sugar slowly.
Add the orange pulp, grated rind, orange extract, and melted butter.
Beat the mixture until smooth.

Finish

Spread the frosting on top of the cake.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,212 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Butter + orangetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,301 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Icing sugar: Provides sweetness and bulk, and dissolves into a smooth, spreadable frosting.
Melted butter: Adds fat for a rich mouthfeel and a smooth, glossy texture.
Cream: Adds moisture so the sugar blends into a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Orange extract: Adds concentrated orange aroma and flavor.
Orange pulp and rind: Add fresh orange flavor and aroma, along with some moisture and acidity.